Callahan Tunnel To Reopen Monday

The Callahan Tunnel, which connects downtown Boston to Logan Airport, will reopen Monday after a nearly three-month-long renovation.

State transportation officials announced Friday that the overhaul of the 52-year-old structure was completed ahead of schedule, allowing the tunnel to reopen two days earlier than expected.

As WBUR's Jack Lepiarz reported in December, the $19.3 million renovation contract included a number of incentives for early completion of the work:

Upon completion the construction agency will receive an extra $71,000 per day the contract is completed ahead of schedule. It will be assessed a $71,000 penalty for each day construction goes beyond the March 12 completion date.

The second phase of the project will continue during overnight closures through late August.

The decision to rehab the tunnel came after a 100-pound panel fell onto the roadway inside the tunnel in December 2012. A subsequent investigation pinned the blame on corroded framework, prompting workers to test 2,400 wall and ceiling panels in the tunnel; 117 were removed.